By Jeff Burbrink
Extension Education, Purdue Extension Elkhart County

Jeff Burbrink

GOSHEN — Poinsettias were first introduced to the U.S. in the 1820s, and quickly became a symbol of Christmas. These popular plants are best known for their bright red foliage. These days, you are likely to see quite a bit of variation in color, from white, to pink, to red and blue or purple, although the traditional red still makes up 80% of the market.

A native of Mexico, poinsettias are a member of the euphorbia family of plants. Euphorbias often have a sticky white sap when a stem is broken. Rumors often circulate this time of year that poinsettias are poisonous to pets and people. That is not true. However, the sap can cause a rash, so avoid contact with your skin, eyes and mouth.

The red color on upper portions of the plant is actually a special type of leaf, called a bract, which surrounds tiny yellow flowers. The bracts, which look like flower petals, attract insects which pollenate the flowers. Under UV light, the bracts act like a beacon to attract pollinators.

The flowers themselves are called cyathia. In recent years, we have seen changes to their shape and size as plant breeders find ways to make them pop out to our eyes.

Over the past 10 years, an amazing range of colors have been concocted by plant breeders. They range from creamy white, to pink, to orange and red. You will also find unusual colored poinsettias in blue or purple shades. These are cream colored varieties that have been spray painted, giving you more options to fit into your home decor. Sometimes, you may even see glitter on the leaves, which I assure you, is not a natural part of the plants!

While most people throw poinsettias away when leaves begin to fall after the holidays, the adventurous green thumbs among us may try to bring them back for an additional season. This takes discipline, perseverance and a space where light can be controlled, because poinsettias require a daylight length of 11 hours or less for 10 weeks to force them to change color. All it takes is one brief blip of light in that window of time, and the process is ruined. I recall seeing padlocks and signs threatening unemployment on the doors of several local greenhouses during the September-December poinsettia season.

If you are one of those determined people wishing to bring celebrate Christmas poinsettias year around, check out Dr. Leonard Perry’s calendar for poinsettia care on this University of Vermont website: pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/poinsett.htm